Birds. 1963 



shank leading, the stilt not ten yards behind. Click, — click, went the locks of my gun, 

 — I allowed them to cross me ; then sprang from my covert ; bang — at the redshank ; 

 bang — at the stilt. Alas! forgive me, ye sportsmen; pity me, ye ornithologists; 

 both birds continued their flight! The one only turning a summerset, the other 

 dropping one of its long legs. Had they been two snipes, in short, had they been any- 

 thing but a spotted redshank and a black-winged stilt, no doubt I should have killed 

 them both, despite a certain mistiness which seemed to obscure my vision ; and 

 for which I will leave those who have been similarly circumstanced to account. Well, 

 so it was, but not a solitary instance of disappointment on that self-same lagoon ; for 



I could tell of I know not what species of heron falling before my gun amid the canes, 

 too thick and too strong to allow of entrance to my trusty Newfoundland ; and I must 

 have told of the consequent loss of the bird. The stilt, however, alighted in sight ; 

 and scarcely had it alighted, when I observed a casador stalking it. But, away it 

 went; and away went I to join the Spaniard. I did so, and promised him a dollar, if 

 he would bring me the bird next morning. Next morning arrived, and with it the 

 casador with abundance of redshanks, dunlins, &c, but no stilt. That evening at 



II p.m. we were to start for Granada. At 7 p.m. the casador again appeared, with 

 the stilt alive. He had caught it ; for weakened by its wounds, it was unable to rise. 

 I had one hundred matters to settle before starting ; no wonder then that the poor stilt 

 was skinned hurriedly. I could not get the head through the neck. I attempted to 

 extract the brain, and succeeded but imperfectly. On my return from Granada the 

 skin was spoiled ! So much for the black-winged stilt ! You will, perhaps, not 

 deem this long story worth inserting. Its moral is, the extreme wariness of the 

 bird. 



The Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa melanura) I saw in the market at Cadiz. 



Temminck's Stint (Tringa Temminckii). A pair of these little fellows frequented a 

 stream near Seville. They were very shy, and I had some difficulty in obtaining 

 one of them. 



The Black Tern (Sterna nigra) frequented the harbour of Malaga. 



The Gull-billed Tern (Sterna Anglica) I obtained at Malaga. 



The Masked Gull (Larus capistratus) was abundant in the same locality. 



A friend of mine has suggested that I should wind up with a few observations on 

 the habits of birds as affected by climate. It is an interesting subject ; and the idea 

 may probably be new to some of your readers. 



Birds, like men, are certainly affected by circumstances, though probably not to a 

 like extent. The experience of every bird-fancier will testify how greatly the disposi- 

 tion and habits of his pets are changed by his treatment. And this change is not con- 

 fined to the young birds reared from the nest; even the adult, caught and reclaimed, 

 alters greatly in no long time. The taste in food, the choice of company, and tints of 

 plumage undergo more or less of change. 



But are birds thus susceptible while in a state of nature ? No doubt when 

 driven by necessity, they adapt themselves to existing circumstances. 



A pair of birds, accustomed to build their nest in the hedgerow, if removed from a 

 cultivated district, and transferred to some boundless and treeless plain, will accommo- 

 date themselves to their altered position, and build upon the ground. I imagine, too, 

 that if the same pair, natives of a temperate, were removed to a tropical clime, the 

 period of nidification would be affected. I surmise this ; for I am not sure that I have 

 unquestionable facts to fall back upon, from the occasional instances which occur in 



